Rotary wheel for linearly feeding multifilament strands



Feb. 15, 1955 w. w. DRUMMOND 2,701,936

ROTARY WHEEL FOR LINEARLY FEEDING MULTIFILAMENT STRANDS Filed Feb. 3,1953 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 mmvrox. Warren nm/w/ Drum/fiend Ar FOINIYJ' Feb.15, 1955 w, w. DRUMMOND 2,701,936

ROTARY WHEEL FOR LINEARLY FEEDING MULTIFILAMENT srrmmos Filed Feb. 3.1953 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN V EN TOR.

QM I A1 TORNE Y3 tion ofDelaware :1

r 2,701,936 lc Patented Feb. 15, 1955 ROTARY WHEEL FOR LINEARLY FEEDINGMULTIFILAMENT STRANDS Warren Wendell Drununond, Anderson, S. C.,asslgnor to Owens-Coming Fiberglas Corporation, a corpora- Applicationam... '3, 1953, Serial No. 334,807

' 7 Clai ns. (Cl. 49- 17) tion SeriaLNo. 334,806 of Slayter and Steitzand the mstant case, is; directed toward improvements in theconstruction,ofsuchwheels. 1

In thementioned Slayter and Steitz application there are disclosedrotary; wheels which have scalloped pc- 7 ripheries andwhichareintermeshed in the manner of ,ggcars. The stranddikematerial tobe fed at high speeds is introduced between the bite ofthe two pullingwheels 1 .and the pullingwheels aredriven at a speed to produce 7 ,alinear feeding of the strand in the neighborhood of, say, 7 10,000. feetperminute. Thistype of high speed pulling roller is particularlyeffective, for example, in feeding f. a multifilamenttglass fiber strandwhich concomitantly -may be formed by being pulled from a meltingbushing I 1 having a pluralityofsmall fiber forming orifices. Moltenglass pours through the orifices and as each stream of glass 1 congealsto. forml' individual fiber, a selected number of fibers are gatheredtogether and pulled by the wheels to' attenuate them] into fibers and tocombine the fibers into Ia strand.

Many problems are encountered in this attenuating and feedingoperationwhich are discussed in the mentioned copending application andwhich are overcome by the 'useof intermeshed scalloped periphery pullingwheels.

It is,.therefore, the object of the instant invention to provide animproved design for scalloped periphery pulling wheels and inparticular'lto provide structure which makes the wheels stronger, forpreventing the stressing and destruction of pro ecting scallops due tothe high centrifugal'forceacting upon portions of the wheel and i toreducethe destructive forces resulting from the. heat of frictionbetween the contacting surfaces of the wheels.

These objects will be more apparent from the specification whichfollowsand from the drawings, m which:

, Fig.1 is a simplified view of a glass fiber drawing operationemploying pullingjwheels embodying the invention.

' Fig. 2 is a fragmentary enlarged view in elevation, and with partsbroken away, illustrating one embodiment v of the instant invention]Fig. 3 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

process appears in Fig. 1 in which a glass tank for maintaining a supplyof molten glass is provided with a plurality of nipples 11 each of which18 pierced by a small orifice through which a stream of molten glassflows. The streams of molten glass flowing through the nipples 11 areformed into fibers 12 by being gathered together as by an eye 13 and fedbetween peripheries by a pair of a high speed pulling rollers 14 to forma strand 15.

Fig. 4 1S a fragmentaryview inelevation, somewhat similar to Fig. 2,butshowmgpulling wheels embodying Z a modified form of the invention. 7i Fig. 5 .is a fragmentary sectional view taken substantially on theline 5-5 of Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary isometric view of one element of the pullingwheelshown in, Fig. 4

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary isometric view of a cooperating element of thepulling wheel shown in Fig. 4.

Fig. 8. is a fragmentary view with parts broken away and showing afurther modification of the invention.

;Fig; 9is a fragmentary projected view taken substantiallyon the line9-9of Fig. 8.

Fig. 10 is a vertical sectional view taken on the line 10-10 of Fig. 8.

Pulling rollers embodying the invention are well adapted for the purposeof attentuating glass fiber strands.

A simplified showing of apparatus for performing this Each of thepulling rollers 14 (see Figs. 2 and 3) may be fabricated with a hubsection 16 by which the wheel is mounted upon its shaft, a web section17 and arim section 18. The wheel 14 may be made from any one ofnumerous materials. For example, it may be molded from reinforcedresinous material, machined or cast from lightweight metal as, forexample, aluminum, or otherwise formed. No particular material isrequired for the body of the wheel 14, it being necessary only that itbe made from material which has considerable tensile strength andrigidity so as not to be distorted greatly by the very great centrifugalforce acting upon the radially large portions of the wheel during theirhigh speed rotation and that it be capable of supporting elementsattached in the manner now to be described.

The periphery of each of the pulling wheels 14 is formed, in thisinstance, with generally sinusoidal scallops thus providing spacedprojections 19 and intermediate valleys 20. The projections 19 aremolded, shaped or milled with arcuate grooves 21 cut on a radiuscentered on the axis of the pulling wheel so that, if extended betweenthe projections 19, the grooves 21 would all form a continuous annulargroove. All of the grooves 21 are cut into the projections 19 from thesame face of the wheel 14.

The grooves 21 receive an annular resilient band 22 which extendsthrough the grooves 21 and spans the valleys 20. The band 22 is retainedin the grooves 21 by means of a spider shaped retaining ring 23 which issecured to the forward face of the pulling wheel 14 by means of screws24. Each of 'the spider shaped retaining rings 23 has a number offingers 25 there being one finger 25 for each of the projections 19 onthe pulling wheels 14.

The shafts of the two pulling rollers 14 are spaced from each other adistance such that the ends of each of the projections 19 contact anddeform the band 22 on the opposite wheel when the interdigitatedprojections and valleys of the two wheels pass through the bite betweenthe pulling rollers. As can best be seen by reference to Fig. 2, whenthe strand 15 enters the bite between the two pulling rollers it isfirst gently grasped between the end of one of the projections 19 andthe deformable band 22 of the opposite wheel 14 and then more tightlygrasped, being displaced laterally from the pitch line of theintermeshed pulling wheels 14 as it passes therebetween.

This embodiment of the invention retains the advantageouscharacteristics of intermeshed scalloped periphery wheels and the radialspacing of the portions of the bands contacted by the projections ofeach wheel, from the bodyofthe wheel, reduces the transferral offrictionally created heat to the bodies of the wheels. The spaces behindthe contacted portions of the resilient bands thus serve to cool thebands and lengthen their lives.

By providing the spider shaped retaining ring 23 the bands 22 can bereplaced when they are worn at con siderably less cost than can a wheelmolded from resilient material to incorporate scallops in the main bodyof the wheel which contact each other and thus are worn out.

The same advantages of providing only tire-like portions of the wheelswhich need to be replaced when worn and of employing simple retainingmeans with such tirelike portions, is present in the embodiment of theinvention illustrated in Figs. 4-7, inclusive. In this embodiment of theinvention a pair of pulling wheels 26 of modified design is shown. Eachof the pulling wheels 26 has a hub section 27, a web section 28 and arim section 29. The rim section 29 is molded, cast or milled, dependingupon whether the wheel is constructed from a material to be formed inany one of these three manners, to provide an annular groove 30 (Fig. 5)having a conical inner wall 31, a fiat bottom and an annular outer wall32 which is formed by a lip 33. The lip 33 has axial length less thanthe axial length of the conical wall 31.

The groove 30 is designed to receive a scalloped tread tire 34 shownfragmentarily in an isometric view in Fig. 6. The tire 34 has an annularflange-like main body 35 with one edge 36 radially thinner than itsopposed edge 37. The radially thinner edge 36 is inserted into thebottom of the annular groove 30 of the pulling wheel 26. An innersurface 38 of the tire body 35 is conically shaped to match the surface31 of the rim section 29 and an outer surface 39 of the tire body 35 iscylindrical. The tire body 35 is provided with spaced projections 40 ofgenerally wave shape configuration, the projections being integral withthe body 35. The projections 40 are so shaped as to readily intermeshwhen the two pulling wheels are associated with each other as shown inFig. 4.

A pulling wheel designed according to the embodiment of the inventionshown in Figs. 4-7, inclusive, is provided with a retaining ring 41 (seeFig. 7) which is relatively thin and has spaced openings 42 throughwhich the projections 40 extend when the ring 41 and tire 34 areassembled on the pulling wheel 26. These. elements are assembled bycrushing the tire 34 radially inwardly, inserting its projections 40through the holes 42 in the ring 41 and then axially thrusting the-edgeof the ring 41 and the edge 36 of the tire 34 into the groove 30 in thepulling wheel 26. When the edges of the projections 40 strike againstthe end of the lip 33, the edge of the ring 41 and edge 36 of the tire34 abut the bottom of the groove 30.

A retaining ring 43 which has an annular groove 44 is fed over the edge37 of the tire 34 and the associated edge of the ring 41. The retainingring 43 is held on the pulling wheel 26 by a plurality of screws 45.

In this embodiment of the invention the projections 40 are resilient andengage the relatively less resilient surfaces of the retaining rings 41when the projections pass through the bite between the pulling rollers.The strand is grasped between the projections 40 and the outer surfaceof the ring 41 being fed thereby. As is the case with the earlierdescribed modification of the invention, a tire-like element isremovable from the pulling wheel and can be replaced when it is worn toprovide a new strand feeding surface.

Under some circumstances it may be desirable to reinforce thereplaceable tire of the embodiment of the invention shown in Figs. 4-7.The embodiment of the invention in Figs. 8-9 provides for such areinforcement, being a modification of that shown in Figs. 4-7.

In Figs. 8-10 a pulling wheel 46 is shown as provided with a removabletire 47 having resilient projections 48 which is retained in place by aretainer ring 49. These portions are identical with those of theembodiment of the invention disclosed in Figs. 4-7. In the fabricationof the tire 47 of Figs. 8-10, however, a reinforcing strap 50 is moldedinto a flange-like body 51 of the tire 47. The strap 50 extends entirelyaround in the tire 47 having less axial width than the tire body 51 andbeing provided with circumferentially spaced holes 52 through which thematerial of the tire 47 extends to be firmly bonded to the strap 50.

The reinforcing strap 50 resists the action of centrifugal force actingupon that portion of the tire 47 located radially inwardly from thestrap 50 thereby strengthening the entire body of the tire 47 andpreventing its outward distortion by the high centrifugal force actingthereupon.

All of the embodiments of the invention provide resilient tire-likeelements easily demountable from a rotary pulling wheel. The resilienttire-like elements serve to provide frictional and compressive forces,to act upon a strand being fed, to grasp it securely, to permit itsbeing attenuated and fed at high linear speeds and, by reason of theirdesign, are easy to replace and wear resistant.

I claim:

1. Pulling wheels for linearly feeding a multi-filament strand, saidwheels having intermeshed, scalloped peripheries, each of said wheelshaving a hub portion, a web 4 portion and a rim portion, the rim portionof each 0 said wheels comprising a plurality of circumferentiallyspaced, radially protruding projections and an annular member extendinggenerally circumjacently around said wheel and across the spaces betweensaid projections on a radius greater than the radius of the bases ofsaid projections and smaller than the radius of the tops of saidprojections, said wheels being mounted upon axes so spaced that theprojections on each of said wheels contact the member on the other ofsaid wheels in the bite of said wheels, all of said projections on eachof said wheels and said annular member on the other of said wheelsforming two opposed strand engaging surfaces, at least one of saidsurfaces being resilient.

2. Pulling wheels for linearly feeding a multi-filament strand, saidwheels having intermeshed, scalloped peripheries, each of said wheelshaving a hub portion, a web portion and a rim portion, the rim portionof each of said wheels comprising a plurality of circumferentiallyspaced, radially protruding projections and an annular member extendinggenerally circumjacently around said wheel and across the spaces betweensaid projections on a radius at least equal to the common radius of thebases of said projections and smaller than the common radius of the topsof said projections, said wheels being mounted upon axes so spaced thatthe projections on each of said wheels contact the member on the otherof said wheels in the bite of said wheels, all of said projections oneach of said wheels and said annular member on the other of said wheelsforming two opposed strand engaging surfaces, at least one of saidsurfaces being -resilient, each of said wheels having means forremovably mounting the element having the resilient surface.

3. Pulling wheels for linearly feeding a multi-filament strand, saidwheels having intermeshed, scalloped peripheries, each of said wheelshaving a hub portion, a web portion and a rim portion, the rim portionof each of said wheels comprising a plurality of circumferentiallyspaced, radially protruding projections and an annular member extendinggenerally circumjacently around said wheel and across the spaces betweensaid projections on a radius at least equal to the common radius of thebases of said projections and smaller than the common radius of the topsof said projections, said wheels being mounted upon axes so spaced thatthe projections on each of said wheels contact the member on the otherof said wheels in the bite of said wheels, all of said projections oneach of said wheels and said annular member on the other of said wheelsforming two opposed strand engaging surfaces, only one of said surfacesbeing resilient, each of said wheels having means for removably mountingthe element having the resilient surface.

4. Pulling wheels according to claim 3 in which the projections havearcuate grooves cut in one face, all of the grooves on each wheel havingthe same radius, and being centered on the axis of said wheel and theannular member lies in said grooves.

5. Pulling wheels according to claim 4 in which the annular member is aresilient band mounted in said grooves and said grooves lie at a radialdistancefrom the axis of the wheel such that said member is deformed bythe projections on the other wheel in the bite between said wheels.

6. Pulling wheels according to claim 3 in which the annular member is anon-resilient band having openings through which the projections extendradially. 7. Pulling wheels according to claim 3 in which the proectionsare resilient and all are integrally constructed in the form of aremovable tire and the annular member 15 a continuous non-resilient bandfitting over said tire and having openings through which saidprojections radially extend.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,030,252 Hale et a1. Feb. 11, 1936 2,259,202 Cooper Oct. 14, 19412,419,320 Lohrke Apr. 22, 1947

